North Carolina group charged in fraud scheme that targeted vulnerable Wisconsinites

Six of seven people accused of organizing a bank fraud ring that operated in Brown and Outagamie counties. From top left Fred P. Allen, Keith D. Davidson, Mackel H. Gaither, Che L. Simons, Sequoia D. Southerland and Henry L. Wilder, all of North Carolina. A photo of a seventh suspect, Deshawn Mobley, was not available.(Photo: USA TODAY)

GREEN BAY - Six people from North Carolina are accused of running a bank fraud conspiracy in which they recruited homeless and cash-strapped people to cash thousands of dollars in fraudulent checks.

The crimes took place over a four-month period in Brown and Outagamie counties.

Fred P. Allen, Keith D. Davidson, Mackel H. Gaither, Che L. Simons, Sequoia D. Southerland and Henry L. Wilder, all of North Carolina, are each charged in Brown County Circuit Court with various financial crimes, including being an organizer of financial crimes.

They are accused of running a type of organization known nationally to law enforcement as "Operation Homeless."

According to an amended criminal complaint filed Wednesday in Brown County Circuit Court, the group moved from North Carolina to northeastern Wisconsin and in July began stealing checks from business mailboxes that were used to forge checks.

They then targeted members of local vulnerable populations, such as the homeless, encouraging them to provide their identification to the group and then cash fraudulent checks with the promise of getting a small cut of the money.

The group printed the checks using routing numbers and other information from the stolen checks to produce fake checks that were made payable to those who were recruited to cash them.

Court documents detail nearly 30 fraudulent checks that were cashed at banks in Brown and Outagamie counties by the group and its recruits. Sheriff's officials note additional fraudulent transactions took place. It is estimated the group cashed, or attempted to cash, nearly $100,000 in fraudulent checks from July to October.

Businesses victimized multiple times by the scheme include a Green Bay construction company, an ice business based in Sturgeon Bay and a Howard manufacturer.

The Brown County Sheriff's Office began investigating the scheme in July.

Six people from Green Bay, Appleton and Butler, who the criminal complaint describes as homeless or "financially vulnerable," have been charged with cashing or attempting to cash checks in the case.

Five others are named in the complaint, but there are no records of charges filed against them.

All of the organizers in the case are charged with organizing financial crimes, conspiracy to commit forgery and unauthorized use of an entity's identifying information or documents, although the number of charges against each varies.

The organizing financial crimes charge carries a penalty of up to 15 years in prison. The maximum sentences on the other charges is 6 years in prison.

All six suspects are being held in the Brown County Jail on cash bonds of between $30,000 and $75,000.